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THE RETARDED CHILD: 
HOW TO HELP HIM 


A HANDBOOK FOR TEACHERS DESCRIBING 
THE INDIVIDUAL PROGRAM METHOD 
OF TRAINING THE DEFICIENT 


CHILD IN RURAL AND 
GRADED SCHOOLS 


ARNOLD GESELL, PH.D., M.D. 


Director of Yale Psycho-Clinic, and Professor of 
Child Hygiene, Yale University 


1925 
PUBLIC SCHOOL PUBLISHING COMPANY 
BLOOMINGTON, ILLINOIS 


Copyrighted 1925, by the 
PUBLIC SCHOOL PUBLISHING Co., 
BLOOMINGTON, ILLINOIS 


Library: Univ: of 


North Caro 


TABLE OF CONTENTS 
Introduction: The Problem 
I. The Nature and Signs of Mental Deficiency 
If. Illustrative Case Studies of Exceptional Children 


III. How to Make a Special Program for the De- 
ficient Pupil 


IV. Where Teacher and Parent Can Get Further Help 


INTRODUCTION 


This book is a revision of a manual which was 
written by the author when he was School Psy- 
chologist for the State Board of Education of 
Connecticut. In this capacity he saw a great 
many defective children in rural and village 
schools,—children who could not be assigned to 
special classes or institutions, but who were for 
that reason all the more in need of special educa- 
tional consideration. The book aims to make 
practical suggestions regarding the treatment of 
extremely retarded children in rural, village, 
and city schools, who can not have the benefit 
of training in a special class. 

We can not afford to neglect the mentally de- 
ficient school child, wherever he may be found. 
We’ have not begun to do all that we might do 
for him. 

In the first place, we ought to understand and 
interpret the deficient child. The first two parts 
of the book are intended to help the teacher to 
do that much. In the second place, we ought to 
bring about reasonable changes in his school pro- 
oram and in his home life, to make the most of 
his capacities, and to safeguard him as far as 
possible. The last two parts of the book give 
definite suggestions as to how this may be ac- 


complished. 
5 


Although this little guidebook is particularly 
addressed to teachers, it should also prove help- 
ful to parents. Whether at home or at school, 
the problem of the deficient child is primarily 
an educational one. 

The present book deals chiefly with the 
problem of mental subnormality, but many of 
the principles and procedures suggested may be 
applied to other kinds of handicap. The in- 
dividual program method of approach may be 
used with any child who cannot benefit from 
ordinary instruction, and who for his own or 
the social welfare needs special educational at- 
tention. 


THE PROBLEM 


The problem of mental deficiency is one which 
we always have with us—in times of peace, in 
time of war, in school, and out of school. When 
America mobilized for the great war, the signifi- 
cance of the problem was brought home to us 
in rather striking terms. It was at once realized 
that mobilization meant more than powder, 
shells, guns, blankets; it meant.a requisition and 
classification of brains. Every effort was made 
to find the right brains for officer material and 
technical service. Great pains were taken to ex- 
elude from the enterprise of war every man who 
was nervously unstable or mentally defective. 
It was an employment problem on a colossal 
scale, and our government used every available 
device for finding the fit and eliminating the 
unfit. ) 

One of these devices was the psychological. 
measurement of intelligence. Prior to January 
1, 1919, a total of 1,726,000 men were mentally 
examined and rated in thirty-five army training 
camps. The rating was made by means of group 
tests and individual tests. The Alpha group 
test was used for men who could read and write 
Enelish. The Beta test, conducted by the aid of 
pantomime and demonstrations, was used for all 


7 


8 THE RETARDED CHILD 


foreigners and illiterates. Neither of these tests 
depended upon academic schooling. Some of the 
best scores were made by men who had not com- 
pleted the eighth grade. 

Between April 27 and November 30, 1919, 
7,749 (0.5 percent) were reported for disehares 
by psychological examiners because of mental in- 
feriority ; 9,871 (0.6 percent) more were recom- 
mended for assignment to labor battalions be- 
cause of low-grade intelligence; 9,432 (0.6 per- 
cent) were recommended for assignment to de- 
velopment battalions, where they might be given 
preliminary training and be observed to dis- 
cover, if possible, ways of using them in the 
army. During this same period of six months, 
45,653 (3 pereent) were reported with mental 
age ratings of less than ten years. A large pro- 
portion of these men were of doubtful military 
value to the government they were drafted to 
serve. 

As in the army, so in the public school, we 
have all grades of intelligence ranging from A 
plus to E minus, from mental superiority to 
mental inferiority and deficiency. There is this 
difference, however. While the army attempted 
to exclude all the mentally incompetent, the 
public school must retain them. Whether we like 
it or not, the public school system must serve as 
a ‘‘development battalion’’ for the semi-compe- 
tent and definitely defective children who give 


HOW TO HELP HIM 9 


but poor promise of ever becoming independent 
citizens. Only when the deficient child is an 
actual menace or an intolerable burden and posi- 
tively interferes with the welfare of his fellow 
pupils, is the public school justified in excluding 
him. But such eases are rare. 

For a long time to come, then, there will be 
feebleminded children in the rural schools, in 
the regular classes of village schools.and in many 
of the regular classes of our city schools. There 
is no reason for believing or even hoping that all 
these extremely backward children will be con- 
veniently excluded from the schools. There is no 
reason for thinking that they will all be assigned 
to special state institutions. In the great ma- 
jority of cases mentally deficient children are 
destined to be reared in the communities where 
their normal brothers and sisters are attending 
publie school. 

All students of the subject agree that mental 
deficiency is one of the greatest of our social 
problems. They also agree that the problem is so 
complex and many sided that there is no one 
simple remedy for it. The doctors alone cannot 
solve this problem; the psychologists alone can- 
not solve it; state institutions and special class 
teachers cannot meet the whole situation. Many 
minds and many hands must combine in lending 
assistance to the deficient school child. The regu- 
lar teacher, whether in a remote rural district, a 


10 THE RETARDED CHILD 


village, or a city school, has her part to play in 
the management of this problem of mental. de- 
ficiency. 

Let us admit that a special class, small in 
numbers, with a special teacher, and a special 
program and equipment all adapted to laggard 
minds, is an ideal arrangement for subnormal 
children. Let us also admit, and just as freely, 
that we cannot expect too much of a regular 
teacher. Her responsibilities lie chiefly with the 
normal children, and she is even open to eriti- 
cism if she gives a disproportionate amount of 
attention to the deficient child. What we are 
pleading for is that this child deserves at least 
a little more than the average share of attention, 
and that this attention should be wisely directed. 
Our aim, in this booklet of explanations and sug- 
gestions, is to help the regular teacher to meet 
her responsibility in a situation which she is 
bound to face. 

And what is the best way to help her? We 
hope it is by making her natural interest an in- 
telligent one, by indicating what can and what 
cannot be done, so that she will not do herself an 
injustice with standards either too high or too 
low, as the case may be. We know only too well 
the aggravations and difficulties which often lie 
in her way, but we are also sure that it is a real, 
human problem, and that there are rewards in 
meeting it. 


Lf 


THE NATURE AND SIGNS OF 
MENTAL DEFICIENCY 


I. THE NATURE AND SIGNS OF 
MENTAL DEFICIENCY 
What Is Mental Deficiency ? 


This, naturally, is the first question. Mental 
deficiency is something more than ordinary back- 
wardness in studies, and it is something different. 
Ordinary backwardness is comparatively not 
very serious. A merely backward pupil will not 
craduate at the average age, but there is no 
reason to believe that he will not succeed in life. 
Ordinary backwardness may even be curable. It 
may be due to irregular attendance, to poor nu- 
trition, to adenoids, to haphazard schooling, poor 
teaching, defective vision, lack of familiarity 
with our language, and a long list of other causes 
which retard, but do not altogether destroy, nor- 
mal development. 

Now, a mentally deficient child does not even 
have the possibilities of normal development. 
His retardation is permanent, and it is incurable. 
He may have poor eyesight and many other de- 
fects, but they are not the cause of his deficiency. 
In perhaps a majority of cases his backward- 
ness is inborn; it is an hereditary or inherent 
handicap.‘ In three or four cases out of ten it 
has been an injury from disease or a similar 
eause which so damaged his immature brain 

13 


ion 


14 THE RETARDED CHILD 


that he can not enjoy normal mental develop- 
ment. Like a plant that has been stunted, he 
fails to reach a full mental stature. He, there- 
fore, shows a certain lack of mental Vigor, and 
always a kind of immaturity. Unfortunately, 
we cannot in any way remove such a fundamental 
weakness and incompleteness. It is because the 
brain itself is incompletely developed that “we 
eannot make him normal. We must admit, then, 
that mental deficiency is an extreme, constitu- 
tional form of backwardness, which dates from 
birth or early infaney, and which is so serious 
that it will prevent the child from taking his 
place either in school, or in the world, on a full 
pag with his normal fellows. 


What Are the Causes of Mental Deficiency? 


As already suggested, they are frequently 
hereditary. The mental deficiency then traces 
back to a defect in one or two of the parental 
germ cells from which the individual was de- 
veloped. One of the chief causes of feeble- 
mindedness is feeblemindedness. If both par- 
ents are feebleminded, the children are bound to 
be so; if only one parent is feebleminded, some 
of the children or grandchildren are likely to be 
so. Sometimes, even in hereditary feebleminded- 
ness, there is no defect apparent in the father or 
mother. There is, however, a mental or nervous 
defect of some kind somewhere in the family | 


[. 


HOW TO HELP HIM 15 


strain, which accounts for the condition. How 
important alcohol and syphilis are in the produc- 
tion of inherited feeblemindedness is not fully 
known. Mi 

In many instances, however, the causes are 
not inborn, but acquired. Mental deficiency 
may be due to some damage to the child’s crgan- 
ism, either in the prenatal period, during birth, 
or in infancy. A direct injury to the brain by 
prolonged pressure or by a fall may be the cause, 
though these cases are not numerous. In other 
instanees the poison of severe infectious diseases 
may irreparably damage the growing brain cells, 
causing mental deficiency. Or the brain and its 
membranes (the meninges) may be affected by a 
disease like cerebro-spinal meningitis. Finally, 
if a child has frequent epileptic convulsions in 
his early years, the after-effect may be mental 
deficiency. | 

When feeblemindedness is due to ancestral 
factors, it is transmissible. It is a pity and a 
-menace that so many feebleminded have the 
opportunity to marry and thus pass on the 
— eondition. 


Does the Mentally Deficient Child Look 
Subnormal ? 

Sometimes; but by no means necessarily. In 

countenance, facial expression, and ordinary de- 

meanor, he often is indistinguishable from nor- 


16 THE RETARDED CHILD 


mal children. It is rather dangerous to judge 
too much by physical appearance. A child may 
look ‘queer’ or defective, and yet be perfectly 
normal. Misshapen head, small head girth, over- 
large or deformed ears, poorly formed nose, open 
mouth, coarse flabby skin, thick, stumpy fingers, 
‘peculiar’ hands, weak hand grasp, generally 
stupid expression—these and other physical signs 
have importance only when they are combined 
with mental inferiority. It is much safer and 
more scientific for the teacher to pay attention 
to how a child uses his body and his hands, how 
he walks, climbs stairs, handles things, how he 
plays and works. For, after all, it is his mental 
characteristics, his behavior, that count. 


What Is the Chief Weakness of the Deficient 
Child ? 


First and foremost, he is deficient in intelli- 
gence. This is his fundamental defect. By 
‘‘mental deficiency’? we mean ‘‘deficieney of in- 
telligence.’’ Intelligence is the most practical 
aspect of the mind. It is the capacity to profit 
by experience and the power to make adaptations 
to new situations as they arise or even before they 
arise. It is that mental part of us which means 
preparedness to meet the demands of life. And - 
this is just what the mentally deficient child 
lacks. To be sure, he has some intelligence, but 
he does not have a normal amount. He is not 


HOW TO HELP HIM 7 17 


strong minded like his normal companions; he 
is so feeble of mind that he falls far behind in 
the race. He falls behind his grade in school. 
When he grows up, he keeps on falling behind. 
He will stumble into difficulties; he may fail 
altogether in the struggle for existence, as he has 
failed in a struggle for education. A man with 
a weak heart cannot climb a steep hill. In the 
feebleminded it is the power of mental adaptation 
which is weak, and they cannot surmount the 
obstacles which the requirements of ordinary 
community life present. They do not have the 
clearness of perception, or the mental vigor to 


grasp and handle even the ordinary problems of 


human existence. They are at the mercy of 
events. Normal minded people are at least par- 
tial masters of their fate. 

This has all been well said by Miss Mary 
Dendy, of Manchester, England. ‘‘To all of us 
birth happens and death happens. Those of us 
who are sane know, whatever we may think, that 
between birth and death we have the power, to 
a great extent, of guiding our own lives; we have 
the choice between good and evil. To these less 
happy brethren of ours [the feebleminded] not 
only do birth and death happen, but everything 


that comes between; their lives are one long 
happening.”’ 


It is a deficiency of intelligence which makes 


their lives ‘‘one long happening.”’’ 


18 THE RETARDED CHILD 


Can Intelligence be Measured? 


Every person who is at all observant of 
human nature makes estimates of intelligence. 
He classifies his friends—and his enemies—into 
various groups:—stupid, clever, mediocre, etc. 
The school teacher estimates her children in a 
similar manner; and roughly separates them 
into two or three divisions: the bright, the aver- 
age, the dull. There is, however, one great source ° 
of error in estimating the intelligence of children. 
They are constantly growing, and it is difficult 
to keep definite standards in mind. A boy of. 
twelve may be doing excellent work in the fifth 
orade; the teacher calls him bright. Another 
boy of ten may be doing only passable work in — 
the same grade, and the teacher calls him aver- 
age or dull. As a matter of fact, the ten-year-old 
boy may really be brighter than the older boy, if 
we take actual age into account. Ability to do. 
school work is a very proper measure of intelli- 
gence, but a most important factor is the age 
of the child. And we cannot make an adequate | 
estimate of intelligence until we take age into 
full consideration. . 

Can we do this with anything like precision? 
The great French psychologist, Alfred Binet, has 
shown us that we can. After years of patient 
investigation of his own children, and of normal 
and deficient school children in Paris, he devised 
a graded series of mental problems, or tests, 


HOW 1) HELP HIM 39 


which he justly called a ‘‘measuring scale of 
intelligence.’’ No one pretends that this scale 
has the accuracy of a clinical thermometer, which 
reads to a tenth of a degree, but it is a ‘‘seale’’ 
because it is made up of standardized units. 
Judiciously applied, this scale or one of its im- 
proved revisions furnishes us a rating of in- 
telligence. 

For example, it was found after numerous 
comparative trials on children of various ages 
that at different levels of mental development 
‘children respond differently to a picture. A 
child of three will ordinarily look at a picture, 
and simply enumerate all the objects in it: 
‘‘man; river; boat, ete.’’ On the average, say 
“seven cases out of ten, a child of seven, however, 
will describe the picture: ‘‘The man is paddling. 
The boat is going down the river.’’ Whereas 
at the age of twelve the average normal response 
_is an interpretation of the picture. ‘‘They are 
fleeing from danger, ete.’’ This is the principle 
of a graded intelligence scale. Five or six tests 
for each age from three to twelve or sixteen fur- 
nish the basis of measurement. What is normal 
or characteristic of a given age being known, we 
can determine roughly whether a child tests 
above age, below age or at age; and we ean tell 
how much he deviates from his fellows. We 
express his ‘score’ by mental age. He is actually 
eight years old; that is known as his ‘‘chrono- 


20 THE sini CHILD 


logical age.’’ He tests six years of age by the 
scale; that is his ‘‘mental age.’’ This mental 
age gives us some idea of his retardation; but we 


do not get a true conception of his intelligence 
-cdliber until we compare mental age and chrono- 
_ logical age. The ratio between the two is the 


significant thing. This ratio is the intelligence 


~ index. It is usually called the intelligence quo- 


tient (abbreviated, I.Q.) because it is derived by 
dividing the mental age by the chronological 
age. The formula is: 


Loe M.A. (mental age) 
“™"C.A. (chronological age) ~ 


If the numerator and denominator are equal, we 
get unity, or 100%, or an I.Q. of 100. If the 
numerator is 2, and the denominator 3, we get a 
value below 100 (1.Q. = 67). If the numerator 
is 3 and the denominator 2, we get an I.Q. of 150, 
which indicates a very superior intelligence. An . 
I.Q. of 67 or less, however, nearly always means 
feeblemindedness. If we use the carefully stand- 
ardized methods of the Stanford Revision of the 
Binet Scale, we may safely say that in children 
the following ratio between mental age and 
chronological age usually denotes mental inferi- 
ority or deficiency: 4:6; 6:9; 8:12; 10:15. 
It is desirable to insert a word of caution in 
regard to the application of the results of a group | 
mental test. The score on a group test should 


HOW TO HELP HIM ys 


always be considered merely indicative. The 
eroup test is for preliminary, not for final classi- 
fication. There is always danger of making some 
error if a group test score is uneritically con- 
verted into an I.Q. rating and a group test 1.Q. 
is not the same as a Binet I.Q. In all cases the 
teacher should not rely on an unqualified psycho- 
metric score, but should remember that this score 
is only one item among several to be considered 
in making estimate of the child’s actual caliber 
and vocational outlook. 

There is a general tendency for the I.Q. of 
any given child to remain constant. Once a real. 
dullard usually means always a dullard. If a 
child is definitely dull or deficient in infancy, he 
is not likely to vutgrow the condition. Likewise, 
and this is fortunate, if a child is definitely bright 
or superior, he is very likely to remain so in 
youth and in adult years. 

- It follows that the intelligence which a child 
has when he enters school, predicts in a general 
way how well he will respond to ordinary in- 
struction. To take the example already cited, 
if at the age of six, he is two years retarded as 
to mental age, his academic outlook is decidedly 
subnormal, for he is likely to remain retarded to 
the same relative degree throughout his school 
eareer. At nine the intelligence retardation of 
this same child is likely to amount to three years 
(mental age, 6; chronological age, 9; I.Q., 67). 


22 THE RETARDED *CHILD 


At twelve his retardation will probably amount 
to four years (mental age, 8; chronological age, 
12; 1.Q., 67). At fifteen it will amount to five 
years (mental age, 10; chronological age, 15; 
1.Q., 67). Of course, there are important excep- 
tions to this rule; and we must not regard the 
I.Q. as an infallible measure of ultimate capacity. 
- But, in general, it is so significant that we are 
justified in saying that two years of retardation 
of intelligence at the age of six is as serious as 
five years of retardation of intelligence at the 
age of fifteen. One condition is equivalent to 
the other and usually signifies mental deficiency. 

Nevertheless, we must keep reminding our- 
selves of the exceptions. Only the other day we 
examined an Italian boy, who wrote a passable 
seventh-erade letter and could ‘do’ eighth-grade 
arithmetic. On the Stanford Binet scale, how- 
ever, he could score an I.Q. of only 65. We did 
not diagnose him to be mentally deficient. His | 
personality make-up is favorable; the quality 
of his modest intelligence is good. He has prob- 
ably reached the limits of his academic attain- 
ment, but he will doubtless be able to shift for 
- himself when he grows up, because of his normal | 
personality traits. Never forget that the per- 
sonality factor is important in estimating the 
outlook of a problem pupil. 


HOW TO HELP HIM 23 


What are the Different Degrees of Intelligence? 


For convenience we may say that there are 
three grades or degrees of intelligence to be 
found among school children: average, superior, 
inferior; normal, supernormal and subnormal. 
By normal intelligence we mean that ordinary 
amount of intelligence which most children have 
and which insures their ability to meet the ordi- 
nary demands of life. Such children are neither 
much retarded nor advanced in their schooling. 
‘They are neither far below or above par. In 
terms of I.Q. (intelligence quotient) they rank, 
according to the Stanford-Binet ratings from 90 
to 110. Children with an I.Q. above 110 may be 
regarded as more or less superior by Professor 
Terman’s classification. Children rating from 
90 to 80 are usually dull. From 70 to 80 is the 
region of ‘‘borderline deficiency.’’ Sometimes 
these children are classifiable as dullards, some- 
times as mentally deficient (feebleminded). 

Mental deficiency or subnormal intelligence 
differs in grades of severity. Three main grades 
are recognized: low, medium and high grade; 
idiot, imbecile and moron. The I.Q. for these 
elasses would range between 50 and 70 for 
moronity; between 20 or 25 and 50 for im- 
becility ; and below 20 or 25 for idiocy. 

These I.Q. zones are rather arbitrary and 
approximate. They do not have the accuracy 
of parallels of latitude. 


24 THE RETARDED CHILD 


The British Parliament has defined the major 
grades of mental deficiency. In many ways these 
statutory definitions are more significant than 
the psycho-metrie. 

The idiot stands at the bottom of the seale. 
He is often utterly helpless, and he very rarely 
enters a public school, because his mental age is 
less than three years. The Mental Deficiency 
Law of England defines idiots as ‘‘persons so 
deeply defective in mind from birth, or from 
an early age, as to be unable to guard themselves 
against common physical dangers.’’ 

The imbecile stands somewhat higher in the 
intelligence scale. His mental level is between 
three and seven years. Imbecile children some- 
times find their way into publie schools. The 
Mental Deficiency Law defines imbeciles as 
‘‘nersons in whose case there exists from birth 
or from-an early age mental defectiveness not 
amounting to idiocy, yet so pronounced that 
they are incapable of managing themselves or 
their affairs, or, in the case of children, of being 
taught to do so.’’ 

The most important and most numerous 
eroup is the moron. He stands near the border- 
line of normality. He often looks normal and so 
we allow him to drift into situations which he 
cannot meet. It is the moron who makes so 
many problems for the schools and for society. 
The moron mentality ranges in terms of intelli- 


HOW TO HELP HIM 25 


gence age, from seven to eleven years. The Eng- 
lish legal definition of the moron is as follows: 
‘*Persons in whose case there exists from birth 
or from an early age mental defectiveness not 
amounting to imbecility, yet so pronounced that 
they require care, supervision, and control for 
their own protection, or for the protection of 
others, or, in the ease of children, that they, by 
reason of such defectiveness, appear to be per- 
manently ineapable of receiving proper benefit 
from the instruction in ordinary schools.”’ 


How Many Children Are Mentally Deficient? - 


Our answer depends, of course, upon the 
standards which we use and how accurately we 
apply them. Terman has found that among 
1000 unselected school children, 1% have an 
1.Q. of 70 or less. By this standard it is safe to 
say that for a large number of cases, 1%. of the 
elementary school enrollment is definitely defi- 
cient. Our mental surveys of Connecticut school 
children indicate that this approximates the 
actual percentage. 

So far as the teacher is concerned this sta- 
tistical question has no practical importance. 
The figures hold only for a large number of cases, 
and the distribution of cases in any school build- 
ing or school district will be uneven. For ex- 
ample one rural school may not have a single 
mentally deficient pupil, another may have two 


26 THE RETARDED CHILD 


or three. There are similar variations in oraded 
school systems. One building with 500 pupils 
may have only four deficient pupils, another of 
the same size or even smaller may have eight. 
The third and fourth grades are likely to have 
more than the sixth or seventh, except when the 
_ deficient children are promoted by courtesy. 


What is the Difference between a Dullard 
and a Deficient Child? 


It may not be altogether scientific to make a 
rigid distinction between the two. It has been 
maintained that grades of intelligence fade into 
each other like day, dusk, dark and dawn; and 
that it is arbitrary to draw sharp lines between 
the grades. For practical reasons, however, we 
insist that a clear cut distinction should be made 
between the dullard and the deficient child. 
And the distinction should be made in favor of 
the dullard. A dullard is not a very high-grade 
moron; he is not a super-moron. He is to be 
regarded as a definitely normal individual, whose 
faculties are simply below the average in quan- 
tity but closely akin to the average in quality. 
He is organized along normal lines. He may be 
slow witted; but he is not weak witted. He has 
considerable. mental stamina and_ stability. 
When we psychologically describe him as a low- 
grade normal, we do it in no derogatory sense. 
He may be backward in school; he may be 


HOW TO HELP HIM 27 


rather obtuse in abstract, academic subjects; but 
in his natural sphere he succeeds. He makes 
his way in the world; because he has enough 
mother wit to do so.) This is more than we can 
Say of the moron; for as Tregold has pointed 
out, even the cat erade moron is lacking in 
“that essential to independent existence, com- 
mon sense. ’”’ 
A deficient child is so defectively organized 
| that he does not promise even the modest suc- 
cess in life which the dullard attains. The typi- 
eal dullard profits much more from experience, 
and responds much more to proper education. 
There will be borderline cases where it will 
be difficult for the teacher to make a distinction 
between deficiency and dullness. It is precisely 
in these cases that she should be careful not to 
regard as mentally deficient, any child who is 
likely to become an independent wage earner. 
and to be able to shift for himself in the struggle 
for existence. 


What is the Chief Characteristic of the Mentally 
Deficient Adult? 


The best, brief answer to this question is 
summed up in Dr. Tregold’s definition of feeble- 
mindedness. In his words, feeblemindedness is 
‘“a state of restricted potentiality for, or arrest 
of, cerebral development, in consequence of: 


28 THE RETARDED CHILD 


which the person affected is incapable at ma- 
turity of so adapting himself to his environment 
or to the requirements of the community as to 
maintain existence independently of external 
support. ’’ 

This definition is well worth mastering. We 
recommend that the teacher memorize it, analyze 
it and interpret it. Notice that the test or 
eriterion of mental deficiency is a social one. A 
feebleminded person cannot become an efficient, 
responsible member of society. He cannot be- 
come an independent wage earner or a self con- 
trolling citizen. A feebleminded man ought 
never to be allowed to try to found a home and 
rear a family; a feebleminded woman cannot 
properly manage a home and for this reason 
alone, if for no other, she ought not to become a 
mother of children. She does not possess the 
mental ability properly to bring up children. 

The feebleminded are, therefore, at once men- 
tally deficient and socially deficient. They ecan- 
not function as normal members of society be- 
cause of subnormal mental endowment. It is 
not perversity, viciousness, or laziness which 
makes them fail. It is a degree or a kind of 
mental incompetence. It is defective intelligence 
plus defective or insufficient personality. 


HOW TO HELP HIM 29 


What are the Social Consequences of 
Feeblemindedness ? 


When feeblemindedness is uncontrolled by 
society all sorts of vocational, economic, and 
moral problems arise. Many of our social prob- 
lems are caused by the vocational inefficiency of 
~ the feebleminded. Vocational inefficiency shows 
itself in so-called shiftlessness, unemployment, 
irregular employment, begging, vagrancy, pau- 
perism. This does not, of course, mean to say 
that every pauper is feebleminded. That would 
be a libel. But it does mean that feebleminded- ’ 
ness is an important cause of pauperism and in- 
digence. A large portion of those who drift into 
almshouses, particularly those who are not of 
- advanced age, have failed in the struggle for 
economic existence because of the feebleness of 
their wits. They did not have the mental ten- 
acity and good judgment to succeed from day 
to day, month to month, and year to year. For 
the same reason the feebleminded earn sub- 
normal wages at piece work; or are ‘‘handed 
around’’ from job to job without holding any 
position for a great length of time. Some be- 
come vagrants, ne’er-do-wells; many are was- 
trels, to use an English term. ‘‘Good-for- 
nothing’’ we often call them. As a matter of 
fact they are good-for-something; but only if we 
* put them into suitable surroundings where their 
weak intelligence will not be overtaxed. 


30 THE RETARDED CHILD 


The foregoing failures we call economic 
failures. If the same individual fails along 
legal lines we call it crime, delinquency or vice. 
Economic failure and moral failure are psy- 
chologically akin. They both may be an expres- 
sion of mental weakness. It takes a reasonable 
amount of intelligence to recognize right and 
wrong, to keep definitely in mind the conse- 
quences of wrong, and to shape conduct in ~ 
accordance with the advantages of right. For 
this reason it has: even been suggested that 
every feebleminded person is a potential erimi- 
nal. As a matter of fact a remarkably large 
number of feebleminded persons manage to keep 
out of jail; but a proportion do not, and serve 
long sentences in reformatories and prisons. 
About one out of five of the inmates of peni- 
tentiaries is feebleminded. Likewise many of 
the boys and girls who are committeed to reform 
schools, particularly among those cases who 
cannot be permanently reformed, are definitely 
deficient. When the impossibility of reform is 
due to mental deficiency, we call the individual 
a defective delinquent. <A fraction of the in- 
corrigible or disciplinary cases among school 
children are defective delinquents. 

Lack of intelligence may be at the basis of . 
other forms of subnormal control, such as aleo- 
holism and sexual immorality. Not all, but, 


HOW TO HELP HIM Jl 


again, a considerable percentage of inebriates 
and of prostitutes are feebleminded. 

Is it any wonder that we have so many social 
problems directly due to mental deficiency? We 
ean only rejoice in the good fortune of those in- 
stances where a happy combination of favor- 
able circumstances allows the feebleminded per- 
son to live a partially useful or at least a harm- 


‘less life. We wish it were possible always to 


provide the external support which their mental 
fraility needs. Perhaps some day we shall be 
able to do so, if we begin near the bottom and 
cope with the problem as we find it in our public 
schools. 


How Does Mental Deficiency Show Itself 
m the School Child? 


Naturally, the failures of the neglected 
feebleminded adult are foreshadowed in the 
school life of his childhood. The failures in 
school may not be so glaring because we do not 
expect too much of the immature and because 
we naturally protect children. Sometimes it 
even happens that the optimistic school teacher 
does not recognize the existence of feeblemind- 
edness in a pupil, particularly if the pupil is a 
docile and agreeable child. But if the teacher 
has a proper appreciation of the fundamental 
importance of intelligence, she is likely to see 


32 THE RETARDED CHILD 


the signs of defect in the school behavior of a 
deficient child. 

‘What are these signs? Let us enumerate 
them, cautioning the teacher to use good judg- 
ment in interpreting them. 

In the first place a deficient child does not 
play in a normal manner. He never is a leader 
‘on the playground; and often he is not even a 
follower. He prefers to sit by idly, content to 
watch others play; and this, not because he is 
physically weak, but because he is mentally 
inert. He does not have ordinary, healthy play 
interests; he is listless; and if he attempts to 
play a game beyond his mental and moral 
powers, he gets into difficulties; he is not likely 
to be a popular playmate. There are some chil- 
dren of high-grade mental defect who manage 
to play pretty successfully; but even they are 
usually fond of the simplest games only, and 
they tend to play with companions below their 
own.age. 

In work as well as in play the signs of de- 
ficiency show themselves. If the child is of very 
low grade intelligence, say that of an imbecile, 
he will not be able to acquire the 3 R’s at all. 
His writing will then be mostly scribbles; he 
will probably be unable to draw a eopy of a 
diamond; he might after much training, learn 
to recognize a few words, and do a few simple 
sums. But when we recall that it is possible to 


HOW TO HELP HIM 33 


teach almost as much to an ‘‘educated horse,’’ 
it does not follow that he can really read, or that 
he has any comprehension of numbers, beyond a 
few, concrete situations. 


What Can a Moron Do in Ordinary 
School Work? 


While an imbecile is almost entirely incom- 
petent in the ordinary school room, a high-grade 
moron may accomplish a good deal with the 3 
R’s. But it will be hard for him to learn. By 
the time he gets to his teens he is usually three 
years or more behind his grade; and what he 
does learn he often fails to understand. In rare 
cases he may have learned to perform long divi- 
sion, but usually his comprehension of arithmetic 
is far below that. He always has great difficulty 
with fractions and with problems requiring 
reasoning. There is a concrete kind of arith- 
metic, however, in which he feels more at home; 
and this kind only has any value for him. 

[x high grade moron may learn to write a 
simple letter. His powers of composition, how- 
ever, are usually below even that; and he is de- 
ficient in matters of punctuation, sentence 
structure and, of course, in grammar. His pen- 
manship is likely to be far superior to his lan- 
guage power. This is because penmanship is 
merely a motor habit, while written language. 
~ makes demands upon a highér kind of intelli- 


34 THE RETARDED CHILD 


gence. A moron may learn to read, but he ac- 
quires the art with difficulty. His reading is 
likely to be monotonous, and rather slow. While 
a normal child usually learns to read with some 
expression and understanding, the feebleminded 
child tends merely to call off the separate words, 
and is deficient in reproducing the thought of a 
selection. A moderate ability to read in a child | 
of twelve years or over must not, however, be 
taken as a proof that the child is not mentally 
deficient. If he is seriously retarded in all his 
school work and shows poor judgment and gen- 
eral lack of common sense, he may still be feeble- - 
minded. 

We must never forget that academic attain- 
ments may be largely mechanical, and simply 
due to years of drill, drill, drill. For example, 
a deficient girl about eleven years old, a third- 
. grade pupil, could glibly recite the ‘‘five table.’’ 
The patient teacher had drilled so hard on that 
table, that the child reproduced it perfectly. 
But it must have been a phonographie kind of 
reproduction, because when the child was asked, 
‘“Which is more: five or two?’’—she could not 
answer ! 

In history, a mentally deficient pupil ordi- 
narily makes very little progress. He may learn 
a few simple facts, in a somewhat parrot fashion, 
about George Washington, Columbus, and Abra- 
ham Lincoln; but he often gets his historical 


HOW TO HELP HIM 35 


characters sadly mixed. He may say that 
Columbus was the first president, and if you 
ask him who lived first, Columbus, Lincoln, or 
Washington, you cannot be at all certain that 
you will get a correct answer. Though a men- 
tally deficient child may learn simple stories 
about historical men and events, he has a very 
meager historical sense. The teaching of history 
to the feebleminded is mainly a waste of time, 
and often an absurd waste. 

_ The same is true of geography. <A few bar- 
ren geographical facts, the feebleminded pupil 
can memorize. He may even learn to recite 
after a fashion in a map study lesson. He may 
point out South America, but ask him which is 
larger, Connecticut, New Haven, or America, 
and you may get a wrong reply.. He does not 
grasp relations which are abstract. He often 
fails to grasp concrete relations, when these are 
beyond the range of his own immediate experi- 
ence. 


What Does the Deficient School Child Need 
Most of All? 


Most of all, he needs to be understood. ) When 
teachers, parents, and elder schoolmates begin to 
understand him, the chances are that he will be 
made more happy and more useful. At least, 
-the teacher who is with him every day can make 
a determined effort to understand him. She ean 


36 THE RETARDED CHILD 


observe his behavior, note his limitations, and get 
some conception of his mentality. Of what value 
is all our psychology if we cannot use it in order 
to interpret a feebleminded child? Let the 
teacher once really appreciate the nature of such 
a child and she will soon find some devices by 
which he ean best be treated. The teacher can 
do much to make the lot of the deficient child 
a more comfortable one. She can treat him with 
such consideration that the whole schoolroom 
will respond to the suggestion. If the child is a 
butt of teasing and other forms of mental 
cruelty, the teacher is the one to change all this 
for the better. We must all begin to look upon 
the feebleminded more as we look upon the 
crippled and physically infirm. A crippled child 
_is the object of peculiar concern and considera- 
tion. We do not expect too much of the cripple. 
Least of all do we regard his weakness as in any 
way a disgrace. Yet, when it comes to the 
feebleminded we often wrongly attach a stigma 
to their condition. The rural teacher, the village 
teacher, and in city schools, the principals, can 
do a great deal toward removing this stigma. No 
teacher or principal should tolerate in the vicin- 
ity of the school grounds the ealling of names 
and the tormenting which are still too commonly 
the lot of the deficient child. By indirect sugges- 
tions, and sometimes by a little plain talking, the 


teacher can make the attitude of thé normal chil- — 


HOW TO HELP HIM oO” 


dren one of wholesome sympathy and apprecia- 
tion for the subnormal member of the group. If 
these normal children need a little sermon on the 
subject, why not recall to them the kind instincts 
which they ordinarily display toward the crip- 
pled, the paralytic and the blind; and make 
them realize that the feebleminded are in need 
of the same kindness? 

The solution of the problem of feebleminded- 
ness depends to a large extent upon general mu- 
tual understanding. It might almost be said 
that if everybody concerned, really understood 
the feebleminded members of their community, 
it would be possible for a great many of these 
members to lead a fairly satisfactory life outside 
of an institution. 

The place to begin this policy of mutual 
understanding is right in the schoolroom. Be- 
gin it, by not expecting anything of the feeble- 
minded child which he is not equal to. Make 
allowances for him. If necessary, make a spe- 
cial program for him. If necessary, give him a 
special table and a little work bench in the 
corner of the room; and instead of fearing 
the consequences which such special attention 
will have upon the ‘discipline’ of the room and 
upon the regular pupils, enlist the interest and 
cooperation of these pupils in solving the prob- 
lem. The problem is this: How can we keep a 
feebleminded child in an ordinary school room, 


38 THE RETARDED CHILD 


and yet serve his best interests? He is bound to 
get more than his share of attention in any case. 
Make the attention intelligent; and if the rou- 
tine is somewhat disturbed, the educational bene- 
fit for the whole group may be all the greater. 
In the lower grade cases, where the child is 
conspicuously below the mental level of his 
schoolmates, the problem will be greatly simpli- 
fied by delegating much of the special work to 
bright monitor pupils. These pupils will take a 
pride in helping the teacher and the child. 
Make it a family problem; encourage codpera- 
tion and the subnormal pupil, instead of being 
a drag upon the room, may furnish a real 
stimulus to the social education of the whole 
group. Let us so change the situation that the 
deficient child will become an educational asset. 
This will be for his own benefit and for ours. 


Who Should Make the Diagnosis of 
Feeblemindedness? 


The teacher should never make an official 
diagnosis. That is the business of a qualified 
examiner. Should the teacher, then, regard 
every child as normal until she is notified to the 
contrary? That would be too much to expect. 
Every intelligent teacher is bound to make some 
kind of judgment in regard to her pupils, and 
sometimes this judgment must amount to a con- 
viction that a ehild is definitely feebleminded. 


HOW TO HELP HIM 39 


When a ease is doubtful, it is her duty to suspend 
her judgment; but when she has ample evidence 
of real deficiency, such as is described in this 
booklet, it is her duty to shape her policy with re- 
spect to the child in accordance with that evi- 
dence. In consulting with intelligent parents of 
the child, she may then go so far as to say some- 
thing like this: ‘‘In my opinion the child is 
seriously backward, he will never accomplish 
what the average pupil accomplishes, and he 
should have special attention during his school 
life and after he leaves school.’’ This is going 
far enough; she should not undertake to make a 
formal diagnosis, and she is not called upon to 
use the term ‘feeblemindedness.’ The most con- 
venient term to use, if any be necessary, is 
‘deficient.’ This is sufficiently accurate, but it is 
not a harsh designation, because teachers often 
use a similar expression with normal children 
who are reported ‘‘ deficient in arithmetie,’’ ‘‘de- 
ficient in reading,’’ etc. We recommend, then, 
that instead of using such unreserved terms as 
‘feebleminded,’ ‘abnormal,’ ‘degenerate’ or ‘im- 
becile,’ teachers will simply say ‘a deficient 
child’ or ‘a seriously backward child’ ‘‘or a 
retarded child.’’ 

And, it is searcely necessary to add, we 
should not talk about a child’s defects and fail- 
ures in his presence. _ 


ifb, 


ILLUSTRATIVE CASE STUDIES OF 
DEFICIENT SCHOOL CHILDREN 


II. ILLUSTRATIVE CASE-STUDIES OF 
DEFICIENT SCHOOL CHILDREN 


Types of Deficient School Children 


For the convenience of the reader we insert 
here a tabular psychological classification of 
children, which furnishes a bird’s-eye summary 
of some of the main facts in regard to the dif- 
ferent types of educationally exceptional school 
children. 

As a simple standard of reference for the aid 
of the teacher, we also present a few case studies 
of actual school children. Three girls, Harriet, 
Sarah, Helen, representing respectively low-_ 
gerade deficiency, dullness, and mental superi- 
ority are briefly described, and specimens of 
their writing and drawing are shown. Follow- 
ing this, is a comparative description of three 
brothers, who are in the same public school, who 
are of exactly the same Binet age, who have sub- 
stantially the same school attainments, but who 
represent, because of their differences in chrono- 
logical age, three descending degrees of mental 
deficiency. These boys, of course, belong to the 
hereditary type of mental deficiency. 


Harriet, I.Q. 43 


ek: is a girl whom we first examined four 
‘years ago. She was then seven years old, but 


43 


CHILD 


THE RETARDED 


44 


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HOW TO HELP HIM 45 


although she had been in the kindergarten. for 
two years, she was not ready for promotion into 
the first grade. And the sad fact of the matter 
is, She never will be ready. She is now eleven 
years old, but cannot be taught the first rudi- 
ments of reading and writing and numbers. At 
the age of seven she could not count four pen- 
nies; she can do so now in a rather mechanical 
manner, but she has no clear concept of even the 
number four. As for writing, she is still in the 
seribble stage. In 1914 she made the scrawl 


‘shown in Figure 1 to represent a dolly. In 1918 


she is unable to draw a steady straight line, and 
she cannot make a cross mark even when shown 
a model. 

All of this tends to prove that her mental 
development has been practically at a standstill ; 
and that six years of public school life have had 
little effect upon her intelligence. This is very 
neatly corroborated by the records of our two 
mental examinations. In 1914 her mental age 
was exactly 3 years; in 1918 it was exactly 
four years by the same tests. It has taken her 
four years to make one year of normal intelli- 
gence progress as measured by these tests. Evi- 
dently she has not ‘‘outgrown’’ her deficiency as 
her mother heped she would. Nor has she de- 
teriorated. She has just about held her own; for 


“her 1.Q. (intelligence quotient) in 1914 was 438 


and now it is 37, a very close correspondence. 


46 THE RETARDED CHILD 


What can Harriet do which she could not do 
four years ago? She can give an acceptable 
definition of a chair and a table; she can tell 
you what one must do when cold or hungry; she 
ean mateh a few simple geometrical forms; she 
ean tell us whether she is a girl or a boy.. But 
she cannot yet give us the names of colors, or of 
familiar coins, nor distinguish between right and 
left. Why does she seem so much more deficient 
than she did when she was in the kindergarten? 
Simply because she is older. While she was a 
mere child, many allowances were made for her; 
now more is expected; but relatively (as shown 
by the I.Q.) she was about as defective in 1914 
as in 1918. | | 

This case is, therefore, instructive because it 
shows how important is the ratio between mental 
age and chronological age. We can never make 
a satisfactory estimate of a child’s intelligence 
ealiber unless both standards are taken into ac- 
count. Harriet’s case also illustrates the fact 
that even children of imbecile grade are able to 
go to school, and that they can be maintained 
there if we make proper provision for them. 
Many, however, would consider her an institu- 
tional case because she is even at best a very 
difficult child to manage, and does not get proper 
chaperonage to and from school. Most deficient 
school children are morons, similar to the type 
described further on; and a great deal can be 


HOW TO HELP HIM 47 


FIGURE 1.—THREE GRADES OF MENTALITY 


The drawings are by Harriet, age 11, I.Q. 43, Mentally 
Deficient. (Kindergarten ) 
The letter to Uncle William is by Sarah, age 14, 
I.Q. 75, Dull. (Grade VI) 
The other letter is by Helen, age 12, 1.Q. 137, Superior. 
(Grade VIIT) 


48 THE RETARDED CHILD 


done for them in the public school, even outside 
of a special class. 


Sarah, I.Q. 75 


Sarah is physically a well developed girl; 
she makes a fairly pleasing impression, though 
she is somewhat slow and awkward in her move- 
ments, and has a reputation of being rather 
slovenly. She is fourteen years old and it is evi- 
dent from her school work that she is not very 
bright. She is in the sixth grade and is, therefore, 
retarded about two years. The intelligence tests 
show even more retardation, for she earns a score 
of little over ten years. She is slow in her re- 
sponses and never brilliant; however she makes 
no absurd replies, and shows a mild sense of 
humor, which speaks well for her. We know 
nothing in her history which proves serious lack 
of good judgment. Though her school work is 
only passable, it is evidently more than the pro- 
duct of mechanical drill. (See, for example, her 
letter to her Uncle William, Fig. 1.) The total 
impression is that Sarah is simply a slow, dull 
girl. In spite of her marked retardation, we 
would not consider her deficient. She has defi- 
nite limitations, and should not be considered a 
eandidate for higher, academic education. It is 
her modest ambition to become a seamstress; and 
in all probability she will sueceed, independent 
of external support. We anticipate that she will 


HOW TO HELP HIM 49 


be able to shift for herself, and show ordinary 
prudence and good judgment. Therefore, we 
classify this girl on the normal side of the bor- 
derline—dull, but not deficient. 


Helen, I.Q. 137 


Helen makes no doubtful or borderline im- 
pression. Intelligence shines in her features; 
as it shines in her school record and in her re- 
sponses to the psychological test. She mentally 
outranks all her schoolmates many of whom are 
a few years older. She has an intelligence quo- 
tient almost thrice that of Harriet, and almost 
twice that of Sarah. Helen is only twelve years 
old; but she is in the eighth grade, and her 
mental age is about 16. Even so, she may be 
somewhat retarded, pedagogically; for she has 
been mentally. ready for high-school work for a 
year or more. Her language reflects her mental 
maturity. She has a vocabulary of over 10,000 
words, almost that of an average adult; and this 
is particularly interesting because she has had a 
very unfavorable home life. Her home life has 
been so adverse that if she were dull (like Sarah) 
we might have been tempted to explain her dull- 
ness by these home conditions. This would have 
been poor logic, for intelligence caliber is pri- 
marily a matter of inheritance. 

Helen freely uses such words as ‘‘depose”’ 
and ‘‘ecompassion.’’ Asked to state the differ- 


50 THE RETARDED CHILD 


ence between character and reputation, she in- 
stantaneously replied with Napoleonic precision 
and sucecinectness. Once hearing seven digits 
pronounced at the rate of one per second, she 
ean repeat them backwards. In five seconds she 
solved an arithmetic problem which fourteen 
year children often take a minute to work 
out. Note also the way in which she writes a 
letter (Fig. 1). 

So far as intellect is concerned, this girl will 
surely be able to meet the ordinary demands 
of life, without external support. She is not 
only normal; she is superior, and as a matter of 
justice and conservation she deserves superior 
educational advantages. 


Three Brothers, Mental Age 7 


We discuss these three children together, be- 
eause mentally there happens to be a remark- 
able similarity between them. This similarity 
emphasizes certain important differences. Almost 
to a detail, they pass and fail the same tests in 
the measuring scale of intelligence; and their 
responses are much alike in quality. This is 
suggested by the samples of school work shown 
in Figures 2, 3, and 4. It is also shown in the 
estimates which the teachers made of their school 
ability. In reading, writing, arithmetic, and 
spelling they were rated at second-grade, or in 
some eases third-grade ability. 


HOW TO HELP HIM — 51 


Fravre 2 Samples of Work Done by the Younger 
_ Brother, rel oes Mental Age 7, Chronological 
eens 10, 1.Q. 71. 


fe a 


52 THE RETARDED CHILD 


In explanation of the samples of their school 
work and mental output, note first that each 
boy was able to write without assistance a sen- 
tence stating his approximate age. Below this 
sentence is reproduced a ‘‘letter’’ telling ‘‘ What 
I did on last Saturday.’’ The drawings portray 
a house, a man, andatree. The circle represents 
the results of the Ball and Field Test, an inter- 
esting intelligence test, which is embodied in 
the Stanford Revision of the Binet measuring 
seale. Briefly, we said to each child: ‘‘Let us 
suppose that your ball has been lost in this round 
field. You have no idea what part of the field it 
is in; but you know it is there somewhere. Now 
take this pencil and begin at the gate, and mark 
out a path to show me how you would hunt for 
the ball, so as to be sure not to miss it.’’ This 
test demands a little practical judgment on the 
part of the child. We consider that a child fails, 
if he eannot comprehend the instructions. Such 
was the case with Harriet. The three brothers 
grasped the instructions, but failed to show any 
definite plan in carrying out the search for the 
ball. At the mental level of eight years we ex- 
pect evidence of at least a little foresight, an 
inferior plan of search. Sarah, the dull girl, 
made a path around the margin of the field, an 
inferior plan; while a normal or superior girl 
of twelve like Helen, meets the logical require- 
ments of the problem, with a superior plan of 


HOW TO HELP HIM 


| eaten ennnneenronncitennnnncnntenonnnnnersy 


FIGURE 3.—Samples of Work Done by the Middle 


Brother, Elmer: Mental Age 7, Chronological 
Age 12, 1.Q. 64. 


54 THE RETARDED CHILD 


search, which covers the whole field with a spiral 
or fan-shaped path. 

Let us now inquire whether the three broth- 
ers have all become permanently arrested just 
below the level represented by fourth-grade 
school work. 

Take first the case of Andrew. He is ten 
years old. He is doing passable third-grade 
work in all his subjects. This is not a serious re- 
tardation; but by the intelligence tests, he is 
at the seven-year level, and his intelligence quo- 
tient is only 71. This is not very reassuring; 
particularly under all the circumstances. He 
does not show normal grasp of Lis school work, 
and his teacher suspects that he is going to have 
ereat difficulty in the fourth grade. If he be- 
comes stranded there, we shall be forced to con- | 
clude that he is probably deficient; though at 
present he is both absolutely and relatively the 
brightest of the three boys. We believe that he 
is near the limits of his mental development, 
that the next five years will accentuate his defi- 
ciency, and that he will not rise to the eleven- 
or twelve-year mental level. We think, however, 
that at his present age he should be given every 
advantage in his school work, but vocational and 
hand work are already indicated in his ease. 

Elmer and Amos are decidedly inferior to 
Andrew, and unquestionably deficient. By 
mental age these three brothers are identical, 


HOW TO HELP HIM 55 


Figure 4.—Samples of Work Done by the Oldest 
Brother, Amos: Mental Age 7, Chronological 


Age 13, 1.Q. 54. 


56 THE RETARDED CHILD 


but not by intelligence quotient. Andrew, with 
an I.Q. of 71, is near the borderline and at least 
a high-grade moron: Elmer, being twelve years _ 
old, has an IJ.Q. of 64 and is much more sub- 
normal; Amos, being over thirteen years old, 
has an I.Q. of 54, and is a low-grade moron. 
Elmer and Amos ean never do satisfactory 
fourth-grade work if they remain in school all 
their lives. Much drilling has given them a little 
facility in adding and multiplying and in read- 
ing. In some processes they are even superior 
to their brighter brother, Andrew; but that is 
due simply to mechanical drill and repetition, 
not to real superiority. Much of their present 
school ability is absolutely useless, and it prob- 
ably has had no strengthening effect on their 
minds. Their information is woefully meager. 
They do not know where leather comes from or 
why we celebrate the fourth of July. Asked 
who Abraham Lincoln was, they both paused a 
long time in apparent reflection. Finally Elmer 
said: ‘“He was a man.’’ Amos said he knew 
that, and added: ‘‘He was a poor boy who got 
riche. 

The children had gone to school for years. 
Do not their replies show the futility of teach- 
ing them academic abstractions? What they, 
and the legion they represent, need is training 
along concrete, practical, and vocational lines. 


HOW TO HELP HIM 57 


Simon, 1.Q. 54 


On looking at the drawings and the written 
_ school work (Figure 5) of Simon, age eleven, 
one can hardly believe that this boy is really only 
a little more than a high-grade imbecile. His 
mental age is six, and on the intelligence scale 
his rank is that of a low-grade moron. He is an 
instructive case for the teacher who is inclined 
to place too much importance upon mechanical 
drill and written work. Here we have a boy who 
cannot tie his shoe strings, but who can write 
out a long list of history facts with scarcely a 
mistake. Here is a boy who cannot discriminate 
between left. and right, who cannot tell time, who 
would sooner have a nickel than a dime, who 
thinks that leather grows on trees,—yet he can 
write without any copy historical statements 
about Columbus, Magellan, the Pilgrims, and 
Amerigo Vespucci. How can we exp:ain this 
amazing situation. 

One word holds the key to the explanation, | 
and that word is memory. Memory, as Binet re- 
minded us, is the great simulator of intelligence ; 
but it is never a complete equivalent or even a 
trustworthy symptom of intelligence. Practice 
so thoroughly familiarized Simon with the writ- 
- ten history facts that after a while the teacher 
could take the chart away and still the boy was 
able to write out the sentences. Put a hungry 
white rat into a complicated maze and after re- 


58 THE RETARDED CHILD 


peated trials it will learn the correct path and 
easily find its way out. The creature memorizes 
the maze; but it is a mechanical, motor kind of 
memory. In a similar way Simon acquired the 
motor associations which result in his surprising 
ability to set down historical facts. 

That there was no true perception of these 
facts was prettily demonstrated by a conversa- 
tion I had with him, somewhat as follows: ‘‘ Who 
was Christopher Columbus?’’ I asked. There 
was no reply. The question proved to be too 
abstract. ‘‘What did Christopher do?’’ Still 
no answer. Finally, I put it this way: ‘‘ Who 
discovered America ?’’ and received the response, 
‘‘Christopher Columbus.’’ I very much doubt, 
however, that Simon even knows that Christo- 
pher Columbus was a man. It is easy enough 
to say that he ought to know, but it is better 
to possess one’s patience because all that we are 
sure that he does know is the motor trick of writ- 
ing out the ‘history facts.’ 

One of Simon’s teachers lost her patience 
because of his persistent refusal to recite. He 
was inveterately silent; and because he was 
sometimes heard to talk on the playground, it 
began to look to the teacher as though the boy 
was simply obstinate in his silence at lessons. 
She summoned his father to school, one day, and 
Simon was rather severely disciplined for his 
refusal to recite. What a comic tragedy it must 


HOW TO HELP HIM o9 


FIGURE 5.—Samples of Work Done by Simon: Mentai 
Age 6, Chronological Age 11, I.Q. 54. 
A. See the little boy, written from dictation. B. Spell- 
_ ing of dog and horse. C. Copy of a square. D. Copy of 
a diamond. E. Example in multiplication. F. ‘‘ History 
Facts,’’ written without copy or help. 


60 THE RETARDED CHILD 


have been when poor Simon was scolded, up- 
braided, and finally beaten, because he would not 
recite! Like reproving a blind man because he 
will not see! Although there is some timidity in 
this boy, he is very good hearted, and his silence 
was chiefly due to a consistent lack of ideas and 
of comprehension. 

This story contains a good deal of psychol- 
ogy, both applied and mis-applied. It warns us 
to be conservative in labelling any pupil stub- 
born, lazy, wilful. Many a deficient child has 
been unjustly deseribed by such adjectives. 
Sometimes, to be sure, the feebleminded are 
temporarily obstinate, but even then, it is often 
an instinctive resistance against an educational 
treatment for which they are not fitted. In such 
eases their obstinacy is a self-protective reaction 
against the wrong thing and a reminder of the 
fact that we ought to modify our program and 
our pedagogical tactics. In general we may say, 
the special child needs a special program. 
Postscript. This story about Simon has an interest- 

ing and instructive sequel. He was first examined by 
the writer in the spring of 1918. During the course of 
a year he made such progress in his school work that he 
was recommended for promotion, and a question was 
raised whether there had not been an error in the original 
diagnosis. The writer made a careful reexamination in 
the spring of 1919 and made the following report: 

‘Simon has developed physically since the previous 
_ year, speaks with more facility, reads more fluently, spells 


better, and shows other minor improvements chiefly in 
the sphere of memory and habit; but there has been 


HOW TO HELP HIM 61 


relatively no gain in intelligence. His intelligence quo- 
tient has remained absolutely the same (54). His mental 
age is six and one-half years by the Stanford revision of 
the Binet scale. 

Tests which require comprehension, analysis, abstrac- 
tion, comparison are uniformly beyond him at the mental 
age levels of 6, 7, 8, and 9. He cannot describe a simple 
picture, he cannot state differences and similarities be- 
tween common objects, he cannot solve simple concrete 
problems in arithmetic. He has learned in the past year 
to tell time, but he cannot give the names of the months 
of the year. His sister ties his shoe strings, though a 
seven-year-old boy usually can tie a double bow knot. He 
can not yet draw a satisfactory diamond. 

Simon has shown such improvement in his school work 
that he will be advanced to Grade III, but he does not 
earn this promotion on the basis of actual intelligence. 
He ean do simple problems in long division, but he does 
not know what he is doing while he does them. He can 
multiply on paper one-tenth by 400, but he does not know 
how much two halves are, and he thought that one-tenth 
was bigger than one-half. He writes with remarkable 
fidelity the dictation exercises and history facts, but he 
does not know who Christopher Columbus or Benjamin 
Franklin or George Washington were. He does not know 
in what State he lives or where leather comes from, or 
who the President of the United States is. He reads and 
he writes, but he cannot reproduce the thought of what he 
reads or of what he writes. Additional details might be 
given to prove that he does not have that ordinary in- 
formation and comprehension which go with even the 
average intelligence of a third-grade child, age 9. 

Simon will continue to make a certain amount of im- 
provement in his school work. I think he could be taught 
to extract square root with paper and pencil, but for this 
very reason he remains an instructive example of the fact 
that habituation and intelligence are neither identical nor 
equivalent and that, even with a rather low I.Q., a pupil 
may sometimes show a surprising, but deceptive skill on 
the mechanical side of school work. 


IIl. 


HOW TO MAKE A SPECIAL PROGRAM 
FOR THE DEFICIENT PUPIL 


ce 


alos a) Gees 


III. HOW TO MAKE A SPECIAL PROGRAM 
FOR THE DEFICIENT PUPIL 


We have now come to the most practical part 
of the teacher’s task.. It is important to know 
something about the causes, the characteristics, 
and the consequences of mental deficiency ; it is 
important to be intelligently interested in the 
deficient child; but the most important thing of 
all is to do something for him and to do it sys- 
tematically, There is no excuse for neglecting 
a mentally deficient child, whether he is in a 
crowded classroom of a large city, or in some 
village or country school. We may wish that we 
could send him to a special class where he would 
have expert attention. But how often is this 
altogether impossible. Fortunately, however, 
one thing remains which we can do. We can 
{devise a special program for the deficient child) 
Every deficient child in our public schools is en- 
titled to such a program. It is the duty of the 
teacher to establish such a special program. 

The Individual Program method of training 
the mentally deficient pupil is always practical 
- when he cannot be assigned to a special class. 
It will not take an undue amount of the teacher’s 
time or energy, particularly if she enlists the aid 
of her brighter pupils or of some monitor in the 


65 


66 THE RETARDED CHILD 


upper grades and makes the situation a kind of 
family problem in which others are encouraged 
to help. : 

Normal children will see much of excep- 
tional and subnormal humanity when they are 
grown up. Let them learn what they can 
as they grow. The presence of a deficient pupil 
in the school room and on the playground, there- 
fore, offers an opportunity for social education 
in a very real sense. Let the teacher take a hope- 
ful, constructive attitude and attempt to make 
an educational asset of the deficient pupil. It 
will help to solve the whole problem. 

Under favorable conditions a special program 
in the regular schoolroom may be almost as bene- 
ficial to the deficient child as a special class itself. . 
would be. Such a program is readily started. 
It means at first only a few adaptations. Natur- 
ally, the deficient pupil will be permitted to share 
in the regular school work whenever he is at all 
fitted to do so, but during certain periods of the 
day special activities should be arranged for him. 
The teacher may start with only one special 
period, but gradually she should develop a spe- 
cial schedule of activities which will keep him 
busy and contented during most of the school 
day. Concrete suggestions for making out such 
a schedule will now be given. These suggestions 
must, of course, be adapted to each individual 


HOW TO HELP HIM 67 


Fig. 6.—Individual Hand- 
work for a Deficient Girl. 
(This girl is weaving a 

mat.) 


Fie. 7—A Special Hand- 
work Period for a Defi- 
cient Boy. 

(This boy is seated at a 
table in a corner of a regu- 
lar classroom, making a 
useful brush.) 


68 THE ‘RETARDED CHILD 


case; and the enterprising teacher will supple- 
ment them with many ideas altogether her own.. 


The Three R’s 


We will begin with the 3 R’s; but not be- 
cause they are the most important. They are 
not. It might even be said that a feebleminded 
child is one who cannot be taught the 3 R’s with 
any marked advantage to himself or to society. 
It has been suggested that the 3 R’s constitute 
the fads and frills in the education of the 
mentally deficient. This is not altogether true. 
Some high-grade children learn to write a simple 
letter, and sometimes they put this ability to 
good use. Some learn to read the newspapers 
sufficiently to look up ‘‘ Help Wanted’’ ads when 
they are out of a job, and they have occasion 
to make use of some of their arithmetic in hand- 
ling their simple financial affairs. But after 
making a few allowances like this, there is little 
to be said for the practical importance of the 
‘fundamentals,’ for the simple reason that they 
are not fundamental in the training of the 
mentally deficient. They are secondary ‘cul- 
tural’ subjects. 

However, they are convenient subjects to 
teach; they furnish occupation and often no 
little enjoyment to the children. If a child will 
learn to take pleasure even in the simplest read- 
ing, that is enough to justify the teaching. Fur- 


HOW TO HELP HIM 69 


thermore, even a slight ability in reading and 
writing serves to make the child seem more like 
other children, and when he is a high-grade de- 
ficient, he should be given an opportunity to 
show how much he can master. For all these 
reasons the 3 R’s may find a place on the special 
program of the deficient child, but the teacher 
should not go to undue lengths in teaching these 
academic subjects. 

When a child can do no more than scribble, 
when he cannot even make a good kindergarten 
drawing of a house, do not go to extremes to 
teach him penmanship, And if a child is so 
deficient that he ordinarily talks only in phrases 
and short sentences, and if, after months in the 
schoolroom, he is unable to recognize a few 
primer words, do not worry about your failure 
to teach him to read. He probably needs other 
kinds of instruction much more. I have known 
conscientious teachers to blame themselves un- 
justly for failures which were due to the sheer 
incapacity of the pupil. 

In arithmetic, when it can be taught at all, 
there is a happy mean. Abstract number rela- 
_ tions are beyond the feebleminded, and many of 
the processes which you can teach by dint of 
drill will be pure acquisitions of memory and 
will never be applied. But there are concrete 
relations which are worth teaching by means of 

yard stick, foot rule, quart and pint measure, 


70 THE RETARDED CHILD 


cloth, paper, sand, water, coins, ete. Ideas of 
near and far, short and long, longer, shorter, one 
half, one quarter, inch, foot, ten cents, twenty- 
five cents, pound, diameter, circumference, etc., 
can be taught by the well-known methods of con- 
erete arithmetic. It is well to keep most of the 
work on this concrete level. Be content with a 
few fundamentals of everyday importance, like 
the values of coins, making change, estimating 
and measuring dimensions, the length of a foot, 
one half, one third, one fourth, the use of a 
ruler, telling time, writing numbers, and simple 
problems. | 


Drawing 


This is an excellent form of busy work for a 
deficient child. Give him abundant paper eight 
by ten, inches or larger in size; give him a sup- 
ply of colored crayons and let him draw as he 
wishes, a half hour if he is interested. Wrap- 
ping paper may be economically used. Magazine 
advertisements offer abundant material to color. 
This kind of work at least helps to keep the child 
occupied and interested. It has educational 
values beside. Any form of drawing or water- 
color work, tracing, copying, ete., may be used. 
Some children like to use a ruler and a compass, 
and stiff pieces of cardboard eut into various 
shapes; with these they construct geometric de- 
signs which they fill in with color. Drawing has ~ 


HOW TO HELP HIM fig 


this advantage, that all grades of children ean 
engage in it to some extent. 


Busy Work 


For a lower grade child who has difficulty in 
doing any ordinary school work whatever, the 
teacher must provide various forms of ‘busy 
work.’ It is better that such a child put pegs in 
a peg board and pull them out and put them in 
again and again, than that he should sit idle or 
disturb other children. Have him paste, cut, 
sort, prick, match, fold—anything to keep him 
occupied. Busy work is often educative, it is 
always better than neglect or a futile effort to 
make the child join in regular class work. The 
teacher will have to make the plans and take the 
initiative in starting this work, but once it is 
started, a monitor pupil, chosen from the 
brighter, older children, can easily keep it going 
and ean add to it. Make it a point to get these 
bright children to make suggestions and to assist 
in every way possible. Following are concrete 
examples of available kinds of busy work.* 

1. Stringing beads. Beads may be supplied 
- ormade. [Straws, circles, acorns, rose pips, peas]. 

2. Making paper chains of various sizes, 
colors, and arrangements. 

*For further suggestions see the book list, page 89. 
I am indebted to Miss Norma Cutts, Supervisor of Spe- 


cial Classes, New Haven, for assistance in the prepara- 
tion of these references. 


72 THE RETARDED CHILD 


3. Sorting colors (worsted, paper, cloth, ete). 

4. Sorting sizes (ecards, sticks). 

5. Outlining simple drawings and designs 
with lentils, squash or melon seeds. The draw- 
ings are placed flat on the desk, and the ehild 
overlays the outlines. 

6. Sorting lengths (strings, ete., of various 
lengths). 

7. Weaving with oilcloth or linen mats and 
colored splints, and with paper mats. 

8. Sewing cards of simple design. 

9. Covering picture frames (of cardboard) - 
with worsted or raffia (buttonhole stitch). 

10. Paper cutting—have the child cut out 
designs from wall paper, advertisements from 
magazines, and human figures from fashion 
books. 

11. Tracing and coloring from large pat- 
terns. 

12. Pasting colored forms in border designs. 

13. Sewing large buttons on bright material, 
with colored thread. 

14. Spool knitting. 

15. Modelling with clay, sand, plasticene. 

16. Making scrapbooks. Pasting pictures 
into large and small scrapbooks is an excellent 
form of pastime work. . | 

17. All forms of paper work. Free cutting, 
cutting to outline, paper mat weaving, paper 
flowers, paper dolls, transparencies, silhouettes, 


HOW TO HELP HIM 73 


holiday tokens, paper tearing, paper folding, 
ete. (see References in book list). 


Handicraft and Vocational Work 


Here is the teacher’s greatest opportunity. 
it may seem rather hopeless to undertake voca- 
tional work for the particular benefit of one or 
two children, in a room with screwed down seats, 
and in a day largely devoted to the task of teach- 
ing the academic subjects. But the situation is 
not as hopeless as it looks. There is a way when 
there is a will. In the first place, there are many 
forms of vocational activity which can be carried 
out as seat work in an ordinary desk. In the 
second place, it would reallv be an excellent 
thing if an enterprising teacher put a work table 
in the corner of the room or had her larger boys 
make a small work bench with a vise or a loom 
for schoolroom use. The fact that the normal 
children would sometimes use this table or bench 
for their own interests would certainly not be an 
objection. Nothing will make the deficient child 
so happy as vocational work; nothing will better 
train and discipline him. While it will take a 
little resourcefulness, planning, and courage on 
_ the part of the teacher to get vocational work 
started, the effort will be repaid because the de- 
fective child will be less of a burden. And again, 
when once the work is started, the older children 
can help a great deal to keep it going. In fact, 


74 THE RETARDED CHILD 


in some schools a committee of older children 
could be enlisted and take most of the responsi- 
bility. In these days we do not have to justify 
such a suggestion because it is recognized that 
such social cooperation and helpfulness in the 
schoolroom are the best kind of education for all 
concerned. The control of the great social prob- 
lem of feeblemindedness is a question of applied 
sociology. And it is chiefly a vocational problem. 
Why not take the first steps toward this control 
in the schoolroom and let future citizens assist 
where they can? 

We make below a rather extended list of sug- 
gestions concerning forms and methods of voca- 
tional work; because this work offers the largest 
possibilities. Some suggestions are very readily 
put into practice; others will require a little 
scheming and a slight expense; but all of them 
are workable even under rural school conditions. 
The teacher who becomes interested in a par- 
ticular line of work, like basketry or weaving, 
will get assistance from the handbooks mentioned 
at the end of this manual. Instead of trying to — 
cover too many occupational activities, the 
teacher will do well to single out a few, best 
adapted to her children and to the circumstances. 


1. Knitting 


This is a silent, simple and very useful form 
of handwork to adopt. Children with only a six 


HOW TO HELP HIM 75 


or seven-year-old intelligence can knit, and re- 
cent experiences with Red Cross work have 
shown that knitting can easily be introduced 
into the schoolroom. The following articles can 
be made: muffler, wristlet, caps, socks, mittens, 
doll’s garments, afghan, wash glove, face cloth, 
eover for baby’s ball, ete. Simple arrangements 
ean often be made for the sale of articles, to re- 
pay at least the cost of materials. 


2. Spool Knitting 


_ This form of toy knitting is adapted even to 
children of low-grade deficiency, and is excellent 
in many eases. Reins for playing horse (colored 
or uncolored) are favorite articles of manufac- 
ture by this method. Mats, hot plate mats, and 
necklaces of Dexter cotton No. 6 can be made by 
the same method. 


3. Crocheting 


This is more difficult than knitting, but may 
be adapted to middle-grade and high-grade chil- 
dren. Jute, Germantown, raffia twine, carpet 
warp and crochet cotton may be used. The 
coarser material, like carpet warp or strips of 
_ cotton an inch or two in width, is usually prefer- 
able. Large wooden hooks may then be used, 
and rugs, knitting bags, and book bags may then 
be made. 


76 THE RETARDED CHILD 


4. Sewing 


This also is a most satisfactory form of hand- 
work. An excellent outline, explaining different 
kinds of stitches, and giving directions for mak- 
ing various articles is to be found in the 1917 
edition of Plans for Progress (pp. 115-137) pub- 
lished by the Connecticut State Board of Edu- 
eation. Patterns, specifications, ete., are given 
for towels, bags, aprons, waists, underwear, 
bathrobe, blouses, pillowcases, and dress skirts. 
Simple forms of sewing and easy problems may 
be adapted to low-grade children. Cross stitch- 
ing and darning designs are valuable. 


5. Rag Carpet Rugs 

This is an occupation, at once so simple, in- 
teresting and useful, that we give directions in 
full. Any rural teacher can take advantage of 
the opportunity offered in making these old- 
fashioned rugs. 

Let the children bring washed cast off cloth- 
ing, like under garments, stockings, dresses, 
coats, and skirts. Let this material be cut or 
torn into strips by the deficient child, and have 
the strips of similar color sewn together, end to 
end; roll the strips into balls. 

Take three of these balls and tie their three 
ends together, and have the child braid these 
strips tightly together. This braided material 
can then be sewed together and made into any 


HOW TO HELP HIM 97 


shape of rug desired. If a round rug is desired, 
- start with the end of a braid in the center and 
keep winding into a circle or spiral. The braids 
should be sewed so that both sides of the rug 
may be used. If a square rug is desired, start 
in the center and shape in square fashion. If 
an oval rug is desired, start at one side of the 
center and lay the first coils of braid in parallel 
straight lines, gradually working to the oval 
shape. 


6. Weaving 


Here is a field for work of many varieties. 
Small handlooms may be obtained or may be 
improvised. A large frame for shawl making 
could be made by a bright boy under direction. 
Large and small mats, rugs, and holders may be 
woven. Warp thread, jute, and cotton or woolen 
strips may be used as materials. ‘‘Old knit 
underelothing is easily dyed and makes excellent 
rugs.’’ Hooked rugs may be made on a burlap 
foundation and double braided rugs on wooden 
looms. Rag carpet may also be woven. 


7. Cord Work 


This is adapted to different grades of chil- 
dren and may be attempted on either a small or 
large scale. Bracelets, doll’s curtains, shopping 
bags, watch fobs, hammocks may be mentioned. 


78 THE RETARDED CHILD 


8. Basketry 


If the teacher has had experience in this 
handicraft or will teach it to herself through one 
of the many practical handbooks, she will find 
it an interesting occupation to introduce. Bas- 
kets may be made of reed, or of reed or rope 
foundation with raffia. Rope or twine has many 
advantages for children. Braided native ma- 
terials may also be used, like corn husks, willow, 
cat-tails. 


9. Raffia Work 


Raffia is a strong, pliable grass, which may be 
obtained either in natural or dyed colors. It 
lends itself to many uses besides basketry, for it 
may be wound, woven, knitted or braided into 
various articles, like belts, picture frames, nap- 
kin rings, sewing bags, ete. 


A 10. Woodwork 


The opportunities here are so many that it is 
hardly necessary to detail them. If the teacher 
is ready to secure a few necessary tools, and with 
the cooperation of some of the older boys (or 
girls) they put up a simple bench in the shed, 
basement, or even in the corner of her school- 
room, many kinds of woodwork will suggest 
themselves. It is not necessary for the teacher 
to be a carpenter or a cabinet maker; nor is it 
necessary to have a large fund of materials. Old 


HOW TO HELP HIM 79 


- boxes and odds and ends of lumber ean be util- 
ized. Stools, stands, shelves, pencil racks, bird 
houses—many simple things for the school or 
the home can be made. The assistance of 
‘monitor pupils’ will be particularly helpful and 
relieve the teacher. 


~ 11. Coping Saw Work 

This form of woodwork is peculiarly fitted 
to schoolroom conditions and can be easily 
adapted to the needs of even rather low-grade 
children. The equipment and materials are in- 
expensive; a regular work bench may be dis- 
pensed with; and the work.is clean. An un- 
limited variety of articles can be made, pre- 
senting many degrees of difficulty to the child. 
Picture puzzles (jig saw puzzles), are a favorite 
product. Dissected maps can be made and used 
by the elasses in geography. Indeed, much of the 
handwork suggested can be correlated with the 
regular school work of the normal children. The 
benefits are not limited to the deficient child. 


12. Special Occupations 
There is a group of oceupations which, while 
not altogether impractical in the ordinary school- 
room, require a little extra equipment and train- 
ing on the part of the teacher. Their value in 
a special classroom has already been demon- 
strated, and under certain circumstances the 


80 THE RETARDED CHILD 


regular teacher may find it well to consider one 
or more of them. Handbooks giving detailed 
directions may be secured. Such occupations 
are brush-making, chair caning, leather work, 
metal work, cobbling, toy making. 


13. Home and School Chores 


Whenever possible, the deficient child should 
be taught to do errands and small tasks. This is 
good training for him, makes him more useful 
and promotes his self-respect. At school he may 
be allowed to sweep and serub the floors, dust, 
clean the woodwork, clean the windows, fill the: 
woodbox, black the stove, collect the papers, 
sharpen the pencils, rake the yard. This fur- 
nishes such excellent vocational training that he 
may well be given the opportunity to clean the 
- windows, etc., even oftener than is absolutely 
necessary. 

Home chores are equally important, and par- . 
ents should be encouraged to assign regular | 
definite tasks in the kitchen, bedroom, farm, and 
shop. As already suggested, teachers should 
point out to parents the value of such work. The 
deficient child should perform a certain number 
of these chores, even if it is more convenient that 
they be attended to by some one else. As the 
child grows older and no longer can get any 
benefit out of the academic work of the school, 
the advisability of his spending at least a half 


HOW TO HELP HIM 


v8) 


1 


of each day in helping at home may well be 
considered. It should always be remembered 
that the right kind of work trains him in just 
those habits which he most needs, and that read- 
ing and arithmetic have no power to strengthen 
his mind. 


; Physical Education 


This is important, because motor or muscle 
training is fundamental to other forms of train- 
ing. Good posture, good step, rhythm, quick- 
ness in muscular response, will improve the gen- 
eral demeanor of the deficient child and help to 
make him more alert. Therefore, any kind of 
setting-up exercises, marching, calisthenics, and 
special physical exercises demanding motor bal- 
ance and control will have a value. Dancing 
and music are often peculiarly effective. Games 
are beneficial both for mental and physical rea- 
sons. So far as practical, the deficient child 
should be permitted to join in the games and 
physical exercise of the normal children. If 
some of these children are made to take a re- 
sponsible interest, they will arrange and adapt, 
games for the benefit of the deficient child. 


Personal Habits 
Simple matters which often take care of 
themselves in normal children must be given 
special attention in the deficient child. His 


82 THE RETARDED CHILD 


everyday personal habits are too important to be 
neglected. While some of these things depend 
on the home, the teacher can do a great deal to 
bring them up to standard. General deport- 
ment, obedience, saying ‘good morning,’ ‘thank 
you,’ ‘if you please,’ ete., washing himself, 
tying his necktie and shoestrings, keeping him- 
self neat, shaking hands, showing signs of re- 
spect—all these manners and courtesies of every- 
day life are important, because, taken alto- 
gether, they will do more than anything else to 
make the child like other children. They are the 
true fundamentals in the education of the defi- 
ecient child. Do not be too zealous to teach him 
reading when he does not know how to use a 
handkerchief. 


THE INDIVIDUAL PROGRAM METHOD 


The most practical way in which the teacher 
ean render service to the exceptional pupil, is 
to institute a special program for him. This is 
much better than drifting along from day to 
day. It will take only a little initiative on the 
teacher’s part to start such an individual pro- 
oram and to set it going on a modest scale. 

As a final encouragement to the exercise of 
this initiative, we add a sample special schedule, 
showing how the individual program method 
could be applied to John Smith. John Smith is 
a typical deficient pupil, age 12, attending a 


HOW TO HELP HIM 83 


districtsscnool in the county of.......... , State 
Olewertiere, hes He can read a primer, writes and 
spells a little; but is idle and distracting and 
bothersome most of the day—unless he is occu- 
pied, let us say, as follows: 


A SPECIAL PROGRAM FOR JOHN SMITH, AGE 12, MENTAL 
AGE 7; INTELLIGENCE QUOTIENT 60. 


This program is suggestive of the kind of schedule 
which may be worked out for any deficient pupil. 


9:00 to 9:15 Opening Exercises 


9:15 to 9:45 Reading. May read with class or with 
Monitor A (Fred Jones) who reads 
with him in the cloakroom or vestibule. 


9:45 to 10:15 Paper Work. Monitor A (Fred Jones) 
sees to this; arranges for the material 
and gives help when necessary. This 
includes drawing, coloring pictures, 
making and filling in designs, paper 

cutting, cutting out pictures, ete. 

10:15 to 10:30 Recess. Monitor B. (Sam Robinson) 
is responsible for this period. He sees 
that John gets a chance to join some 
of the games; he may sometimes ar- 
range special games for him; and he 
also sees to it that no one torments or 
imposes upon John on the playground 
or going to and from school. (It is 
important for the teacher not to neglect 
this.) 

10:30 to 10:45 Outdoor Chores or Errands. Cleaning 
up yard, raking, spading flower beds 
or shrubs, sweeping, washing windows, 
errands, ete. (If there are not abund- 
ant opportunities, the teacher should 
make them.) 


84 THE RETARDED CHILD 


10:45 to 11:00 Writing. Copying words and figures, 
and writing exercises. Monitor C. 
(Jane Brown) 
11:45 to Dismissal Handwork. Knitting, spool knit- 
ting, Dexter knitting (Bartholomew 
- mat frame), braiding, ete. 
:30 to 1:45 Reading. (with regular group) 

:45 to 2:00 Writing. Monitor C. 

:00 to 2:30 Seat Work. Pasting: serap book of 
magazine pictures. Cutting out and 
pasting of geographical pictures for 
Geographical Scrap Book used by the 
regular classes in geography. (His- 
tory, Nature Study, and other scrap 
books may be added to the series.) 
Monitor A and teacher supervise and 
direct. 

:30 to 2:45 Recess (Monitor B) 

:45 to 3:30 Industrial Work. Weaving rag rug; 
brushmaking; making basket; wood- 
work at a bench in the basement or 
corner of the room (Monitor C or D). 
(The teacher may arrange with parents 
for early dismissal, so John can do 
definite chores at home. In many in- 
stances, it is desirable to have the: defi- 
cient child attend school for only part 
of the day. Parents may readily co- 
operate on that basis.) 


Do 


bo bo 


A Final Word to the Teacher 


While we appreciate that many of the fore- 
voing suggestions have no application to her par- 
ticular problem, we hope that they are numerous 
enough so that she can undertake to work out a 
special program for her deficient pupil. She can 
start by giving him at least one period of special 
seatwork, and then she can gradually add activi- 


CO 


HOW. TO HELP HIM 5 
ties to this (often with the aid of her bright 
pupils) until she will have established a new 
schedule for him. 

We wish to repeat that, wherever possible, the 
teacher should make the deficient child ‘a family 
problem,’ in the solution of which, the older and 
brighter pupils may share. Let her parcel out 
some of the minor responsibilities to these pupils, 
and soon she will find that the special program 
maintains itself and grows in possibilities. <A 
little initiative on the part of the teacher, com- 
bined with ingenuity and interest will go a long 
way toward improving the status of the deficient 
school child. , 

The teacher in a rural district or small town 
may well regard herself as ex officio a kind of 
social worker for her community. Her interest 
need not be rigidly limited to pupils of school 
age, and much that we have said in the preced- 
ing pages applies to children of either school or 
pre-school age with handicaps other than mental 
subnormality. There may be some blind child, 
deaf child, crippled or physically defective child 
who is in danger of suffering from educational 
neglect. The deaf child, in particular, needs 
‘special training as early as the age of two or 
three years. Tactfully the teacher can always 
take an active interest in these cases and can 
turn to public and state agencies for assistance 
in aiding parents to meet the problems. 


Gye 


WHERE TEACHER AND PARENT CAN 
GET FURTHER HELP 


IV. WHERE TEACHER AND PARENT CAN 
GET FURTHER HELP 


- Wie Books 


The books which deal with the study and 
‘treatment of mental deficiency are very numer- 
ous. We shall make special mention, however, 
of those which are of most practical value in 
organizing a special program for the exceptional 
school child. If the teacher cannot add any of 
these books to her own personal library, we sug- 
gest that she make a few selections and have 
them purchased by the school superintendent or 
school committee. Sometimes she can borrow 
the book from a local or state library. 

An inexpensive book of general value is that 
by Meta Anderson, Education of Defectives in 
the Public Schools, World Book Company, 
Yonkers, New York, 1917. This little book gives 
a good general presentation of special class work, 
but contains many suggestions which would be 
helpful in planning a special individual pro- 
gram. 

The most practical, concrete and compre- 
hensive book dealing with methods of instructing 
mentally deficient children is the one which was 
compiled coéperatively by the Special Class 
Teachers of Boston. It can be highly recom- 


89 


90 THE RETARDED CHILD 


mended. It is called The Boston. Way, and is 
published by the Rumford Press, Concord, N. H., 
1921. In this book the Boston Special Class 
Teachers have gathered together the school 
activities which they found most practical in 
their special classes. This volume, therefore, con- 
tains a detailed account of different types of 
work. It also contains references to other books. 

We should also recommend The Industrial 
Art Textbooks, by Bonnie Shaw and Hugo 
Froelich (A. S. Barnes Co., New York). There 
is one booklet prepared for each grade from one 
to eight. The first four in this series will be 
found especially helpful. Directions and illus- 
trations are given for pupils in woodwork, stick 
printing, posters, paper cutting, needlework, in- 
terior decoration, basketry, ete. The projects 
suggested are inexpensive, and the book contains 
many helpful ideas. 


Prevocational and Industrial Arts, by Harry 
E. Wood and James H. Smith (Atkinson, Ment- 
zer, and Co., Chicago, 1919) covers a somewhat 
different field. This book gives detailed instruc- 
tions for many kinds of hand work, such as wood- 
work, concrete mixing, shoe repairing, chair can- 
ing, ete. It may prove especially helpful for the 
high-grade deficient child who has vocational in- 
terests and capacity. 


The Handicraft Book, by Jessup and Logue 
(A. S. Barnes Co., 1913), is a small book giving 


HOW TO HELP HIM 91 


detailed directions for knotting, looping, weav- 
ing, and basketry. It is arranged for children 
of primary-grade capacity. 

Seat Work and Industrial Occupations, by 
Mary L. Gilman and Elizabeth Williams (The 
Maemillan Co., New York, 1916), contains help- 
.ful suggestions for simple work of a kinder- 
garten nature and many ideas for paper work. 

Teachers nowadays can get many other prac- 
tical hints for seat work and handicraft from 
current educational journals, newspapers, maga- 
zines, and even farm journals. It is advisable to 
keep a book of clippings for this purpose. In a 
year or two one can gather many concrete sug- 
gestions which may be very useful in carrying 
along an individual special program. 

The teacher who wishes assistance in correct- 
ing speech defects may consult Scripture and 
Jackson’s Manual of Exercises for the Correc- 
tion of Speech Disorders, (F. A. Davis Com- 
pany, Philadelphia). 

If the teacher can secure only one of these 
books, the volume entitled The Boston Way will 
probably be found to be the most serviceable. 
‘We would insist, however, that no book is en- 
tirely indispensable and that with the sugges- 
tions given in the present manual the teacher 
may on her own resources undertake the organi- 
zation of a special program for the deficient 


~ pupil. 


92 THE RETARDED CHILD 


As a supplementary list of books which are 
helpful on special subjects we would mention the 
following: 


Bancroft, Jessie T. Games for Playground,. 
Home, School, and Gymnasium (Maemillan Co., 
NEYe : 

- Ward, Crampton. The Folk Dance Book 
(A. S. Barnes Co., N. Y., 1909). 


White, Mary. How to Make Baskets 
(Doubleday, Page and, Co., Garden City, Nese 
1901). 


Thatcher, Edward. Making Tin Can Toys 
(J . B. Lippincott Co., Philadelphia, 1919). 


Peterson, Louis C. Educational Toys (The 
Manual Arts Press, Peoria, Ill., 1920). 


This book gives directions for aE toys with the 
coping-saw (many of them animal toys) with several 
full-page patterns. that may be traced or enlarged. 
Moore, Harris W. Manual Training Tas 
for the Bou s, Workshop (The Manual Arts 
Press, Peoria, Tll., 1916). 
This’ book gives directions for making toys more 
difficult than those in the preceding book. 
Martin, William 8... Manual Training Play 
dig oblems (Macmillan Co., N. Y., 1917). 


This book has sketches and A echot PO for still more 
difficult toys, such as stilts, a roller- Rea) a sail 
boat, ete. : TBA 


HOW TO HELP HIM 93 


Solar, Frank J. Handicraft Projects. (Bruce 
Publishing Co., Milwaukee, Wis., 1921). 

This is a small book containing directions and pat- 
terns for many lessons in woodwork. 

A few books dealings more broadly with the 
general aspects of mental deficiency and handi- 
caps should be mentioned. 


Social Aspects of Mental Hygiene (Yale Uni- 
versity Press, New Haven, Conn., 1925). 

. This is a small but convenient volume of addresses 
by Williams, Campbell, Myerson, Gesell, Fernald and 
Taft. Dr. Fernald discusses the Feebleminded in the 
Community. 

Terman, L. M. The Measurement of Intell- 
gence (Houghton Mifflin Company, 1916). 

This is a standard book containing the Stanford 
revision of the Binet measuring scale of intelligence. 

Wallin, J. E. W. The Education of Handi- 
capped Children (Houghton Mifflin. Company, 

1924). 


This book deals with public school questions relat- 
ing to the education of handicapped children, with spe- 
cial reference to the mentally deficient. 


Gesell, A. L. Exceptional Children and the 
Public School Policy (Yale University Press, 
New Haven, Conn.). 


This book contains a report of a mental survey of 
the elementary schools of New Haven, Conn., with con- 
crete suggestions regarding the organization of special 
classes. 


94 THE RETARDED CHILD 


Gesell, A. L. The Pre-School Child: From 
the Standpoint of Public Hygiene and Educa- 
tion (Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston). 


This book contains chapters on handicapped chil- 
dren of school age and of pre-school age. It deals par- 
ticularly with the pre-school age and with the work of 
nursery schools and kindergartens. 


Gesell, A. L. The Mental Growth of the 
Pre-school Child: a Psychological Outline of 
Normal Development from Birth to the Srath 
Year. Including a System of Developmental 
Diagnosis. (Macmillan Company, 1925). 


This book deals with the period of infancy and the 
early diagnosis of mental deficiency. It is based on a 
study of norms of development in 500 normal children. 


2. Public Agencies and Institutions 


The teacher should, of course, make use of 
the services of public and charitable agencies 
whenever available—school physician, school 
nurse, public health nurse, state board of chari- 
ties, state board of education, county superin- 
tendent of schools, ete. If the case of deficiency 
is extremely serious and commitment to a state 
institution is desirable, she may get directions as 
to procedure from local authorities or address a 
letter to the state board of charities. 

Societies and committees for mental hygiene 
have been established in many parts of the coun- 
try; and these are also in a position to be of 
service. Following is a directory of these organi- 


HOW TO HELP HIM 95 


zations, with the address of the secretary, who 
will always be able to supply information in 
regard to the disposition of serious cases of 
mental defect and disorder. 


DIRECTORY OF COMMITTEES AND SOCIETIES 
; FOR MENTAL HYGIENE 


NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS 


The National Committee for Mental Hygiene, Inc. 
370 Seventh Avenue, New York City 
Dr. Frankwood E. Williams, Medical Director 
Dr. Ralph P. Truitt, Director, Division on Preven- 
tion of Delinquency 
Dr. Thomas H. Haines, Director, Division on Mental 
Deficiency 
Dr. George K. Pratt, Assistant to Medical Director 
Clifford W. Beers, Secretary 
Paul O. Komora, Assistant Secretary 
Edith M. Furbush, Statistician 
The Canadian National Committee for Mental Hygiene 
102 College Street, Toronto, Canada 
Dr. C. K. Clarke, Medical Director 
Dr. C. M. Hincks, Associate Medical Director and 
Secretary 
Dr. Gordon S. Mundie, Associate Medical Director 


STATE ORGANIZATIONS 


Alabama Society for Mental Hygiene 

Dr. W. D. Partlow, Secretary, Tuscaloosa, Alabama 
California Society for Mental Hygiene 

Miss Julia George, Secretary 

1136 Eddy Street, San Francisco, Cal. 
Connecticut Society for Mental Hygiene 

39 Church Street, New Haven, Conn. 

Otto T. Wiedman, Medical Director 

Mrs. Helen M. Ireland, Secretary 


96 THE RETARDED CHILD 


District of Columbia Society for Mental Hygiene 
Dr. D. Perey Hickling, Secretary 
1305 Rhode Island Avenue, Washington, D. C. 
Georgia Society for Mental Hygiene 
In process of organization 
Dr. N. M. Owensby, Secretary. 
Peters Building, Atlanta, Ga. 
Illinois Society for Mental Hygiene 
5 North Wabash Avenue, Chicago, Ill. 
Dr. Ralph P. Truitt, Medical Director 
Indiana Society for Mental Hygiene 
Paul L. Kirby, Secretary 
88 Baldwin Block, Indianapolis, Ind. 
Iowa Society for Mental Hygiene 
(Not yet active.) 
Kkansas Society for Mental Hygiene 
Dr. Florence B. Sherbon, Secretary 
Mulvane Building, Topeka, Kansas 
Louisiana Society for Mental Hygiene 
Dr. Maud Loeber, Secretary 
1424 Milan Street, New Orleans, La. 
Mental Hygiene Society of Maryland 
130 So. Calvert Street, Baltimore, Md. 
Dr. Chas. B. Thompson, Exec. Secretary 
Massachusetts Society for Mental Hygiene 
1132 Kimball Building, 18 Tremont Street, Boston, 
Mass. 
Dr. George K. Pratt, Medical Director 
Maine Society for Mental Hygiene 
In process of organization. Address Dr. F. C. 
Tyson, Augusta, Maine 
Mississippi Society for Mental Hygiene 
Dr. J. H. Fox, Secretary, Jackson, Mississippi 
Missouri Society for Mental Hygiene 
Dr. James F. McFadden, Secretary, Humboldt Build- 
ing, St. Louis, Mo. 
Committee on Mental Hygiene of the New York State 
Charities Aid Association 
105 East 22d Street, New York City 
Stanley P. Davies, Exec. Secretary 


HOW TO HELP HIM 97 


North Carolina Society for Mental Hygiene 

Dr. Albert Anderson, Secretary, Raleigh, N. C. 
Oregon Society for Mental Hygiene 

Professor Samuel C. Kohs, Secretary, Portland, Ore. 
Committee on Mental Hygiene of the Public Charities 

Association of Pennsylvania 

419 South 15th Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 

Kenneth L. M. Pray, Secretary 
Rhode Island Society for Mental Hygiene 

Miss Mary C. Greene, Secretary 

9 Exchange Terrace, Providence, R. I. 
Tennessee Society for Mental Hygiene 

C. C. Menzler, Secretary, Nashville, Tenn. 
Virginia Society for Mental Hygiene 

Dr. William F. Drewry, Petersburg, Virginia 


3. Volunteer Social Service and After-Care 


It would be extremely convenient if we could 
always eall upon public officials, expert super- 
visors, teachers of special classes, professional 
social workers, and similar experts in the solu- 
tion of the problem of the deficient child. The 
actual fact, however, is that over half of the 
population of our country live in rural and vil- 
lage communities, where social agencies may be 
scantily represented. The rural and the village 
teacher must herself assume the capacity of 
social worker when confronted with the problem 
of -feeblemindedness or delinquency in_ her 
school room.. She can often perform a genuine 
social service to the parents of a deficient child, 
particularly when they do not appreciate their 
problem. When the child has been definitely 
diagnosed as mentally deficient, or when the evi- 


98 THE RETARDED CHILD 


dence points decisively to mental deficiency, the 
teacher can be of real assistance to the parents 
by making suggestions concerning the treatment 
of the deficient child at home. Parents should 
realize that this home training is often very 
important. So far as possible, the child should 
learn in his home the fundamental personal 
habits that have to do with his cleanliness, neat- 
ness, and everyday deportment. Does he know 
how to wash himself? Does he comb his own 
hair? Can he tie his shoestrings? Does he know 
how and when to use his handkerchief? Some of 
the simplest things are often neglected. Families 
fall into the habit of helping the deficient child 
too much. By patient drill he must be taught 
those personal habits which will make him less 
burdensome and more attractive to others. 
Above all, the child should be taught how to 
work with his hands. He should learn to assist 
in the labor of the home, the farm, the shop. 
So far as practical, he should have definite 
chores. <A deficient child can often he trained 
into a considerable degree of usefulness. The 
one thing that can not be taught him is good 
judgment, and it is for this reason the parents 
must never expect too much of him. 

Tact is always necessary in discussing such 
questions, but when the teacher is sure of her 
ground, a positive use of tact is surely much 
better than a policy of silence or neglect. As a 


HOW TO HELP HIM 99 


matter of justice to the child, everything should 
be done to protect his future. 

How should parents be advised in regard to 
that future? So much depends upon each indi- 
vidual ease, that we will give only a few general 
suggestions. 

1. If the child is an excessive burden and a 
real menace, steps should be taken to have him 
committed to an institution. We have already 
given suggestions as to how to proceed in such 
an event. 

2. If the child is apparently ‘harmless’ and 
ean do a little work, the parents must be made 
to realize that the child will probably always lack 
the judgment to take entire care of himself, and 
that he should always be kept near friends and 
relatives who will guard him against pitfalls and 
dangers. <A defective young man must not be 
permitted to try to make his way in the world. 
A defective young woman should be guarded 
against every danger. Neither, of course, should 
Marny.s: 

3. The only hope of keeping a feebleminded 
person safe and happy outside of a colony or 
institution is to find the right kind of work for 
that person. Let the occupation be simple and 
the worker be protected from dangers, and the 
problem is often solved. It cannot be too often 
insisted that the goal of our efforts should be 
the finding of secure and suitable occupation. 


100 THE RETARDED CHILD 


It is not proposing too much to say that the 
teacher, aided by her principal or school super- 
intendent, should concern herself with the defi- 
cient boy or girl who has left school and is no 
longer under her direct authority. The teacher 
may realize better than any one else in the com- 
munity how much that feebleminded boy or girl 
will need guardianship, supervision, and intelli- 
gent understanding. The teacher has oppor- 
tunity, as an agent of the public school system, 
to assist the parents to understand the situation. 
If, for any reason, the parents can not meet the 
situation, she may induce some relative, some 
kindly disposed man or woman, some member 
of a church or other local organization, to take 
a constructive interest in the feebleminded 
youth. The feebleminded girl, in particular, 
should be protected and safeguarded in every 
way possible. The feebleminded boy should be 
understood by his employer and have many 
allowances made in his behalf. This kind of 
social work is possible anywhere—in rural, vil- 
lage, and urban neighborhoods alike. The 
teacher who engages in it will be rendering a 
service not only to the feebleminded, but also to 
the state of which she is a public servant. 


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